Presto Editor's Choices,
Presto Editor's Choices - February 2018
Mahler's First Symphony was a teenage obsession of mine (I think it was the first classical CD I bought with my own money, and certainly the first complete symphony I ever took part in as a performer); I probably have more recordings of it than any other single work, but I had to make space on the shelf for Ádám Fischer's new account from Düsseldorf, which has genuinely made me rethink my expectations of a score I thought I knew inside-out. I've also had a wonderful time this month exploring the incredibly diverse song output of Nikolai Medtner thanks to a marvellous new compendium from pianist Iain Burnside and a team of mainly Russian-speaking singers on Delphian, whilst a bracing collection of Dag Wirén's orchestral works on Chandos has been just the thing to blow off the winter cobwebs.
Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Adam Laloum (piano), Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Kazuki Yamada
These lithe, lightly-sprung accounts of the two concertos share many of the virtues of the young French pianist's solo Brahms recordings – I love the sense of clarity and spaciousness which he brings to even the densest passages, and he's as compelling in the role of accompanist as he is when centre-stage (witness the lovely interplay with the excellent solo horn in the first movement of Concerto No. 1).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
More lyrical and less overtly rustic than his brother Iván's account on Channel Classics, the elder Fischer's Mahler One is just as captivating on its own terms. Spring unfolds with leisurely charm, and his way with the middle movements are especially illuminating: the second's trio is almost Rosenkavalier-esque, and there are some delicious flirtations with cabaret in the third.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
An album that's as bold and invigorating as its cover, and painted in the same bright primary colours: the Swedish composer's Third Symphony was a delightful discovery for me, with Gamba's relatively large string section racing through the finale's passagework like a throughbred out of the starting-gates.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The eponymous 'boys' are Arthur Gold and Robert Fizdale, the American piano duo for whom two of these works were written; 'Les girls' have tremendous fun playing up the kinship between Poulenc and Brubeck, and the whole album breathes lightly-worn chic and joie de vivre. Watch out for the final moto perpetuo of Baptiste Trotignon's Three Pieces, which sounds like the opening of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata letting its hair down.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Gerstein trained as a jazz pianist alongside his classical studies, and it shows: the Rhapsody (give here in its original jazz-band incarnation) comes up as fresh as paint in a performance that sounds as if it's being extemporised after-hours among friends, and the langorous but blissfully unsentimentalised Summertime (with Pink Martini vocalist Storm Large) is irresistible.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
I must admit to rolling my eyes at yet another concept-album exploring the idea of 'home', but the Persian-Austrian cellist soon won me over: he approaches Schubert's Arpeggione with the same improvisatory spirit which makes such a strong case for Reza Vali’s Persian Folk Songs in their recording premiere, and his own unaccompanied Fire-Dance (complete with percussive effects from the soloist!) is an absolute show-stopper.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Cohen and Co. will convince you that the two Magnificats from the lesser-spotted Bachs deserve to be up there with JS's masterpiece: all three works really dance, and there's some top-drawer solo work, not least from the firm-toned, agile tenor Thomas Walker and the fresh-voiced mezzo Olivia Vermeulen.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Medtner: Songs
Ekaterina Siurina (soprano), Justina Gringyte (mezzo-soprano), Oleksiy Palchykov (tenor), Robin Tritschler (tenor), Rodion Pogossov (baritone), Nikolay Didenko (bass) & Iain Burnside (piano)
The Rachmaninovian Pushkin settings were what reeled me into this marvellously diverse collection, but I have the feeling I'll be dipping in and out of it for months to come. There are some stunning young voices on display, too: Justina Gringyte and Robin Tritschler stand out in the Goethe songs, but all six singers are distinctive and idiomatic.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
